Hyundai Planning Stop-Start Tech For Its Cars

Rumors of stop-start systems have been flying around the auto industry over the past 18 months; now it's Hyundai and Kia's turn.

Rumors of stop-start systems have been flying around the auto industry over the past 18 months; now it's Hyundai and Kia's turn. AutoblogGreen reports that the two automakers plan to engineer stop-start technology, which cuts the engine automatically when idling, into much of their model lines in America over the next two years.

That means we likely won't see start-stop-capable cars until at least 2012. The report said the pay-off probably won't be huge--on the order of three percent for the average vehicle--but that could be enough to boost the brand new Sonata Hybrid to 38 MPG city/40 MPG highway on the EPA test.

The systems will also reduce CO2 emissions by a similar amount, according to the report.